Blog : Little Lilypad Co

The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad, when he is not relaxing in one of our best recliners, or by one of our baby bloggers and occasionally we accept guest posts. There is frequently talk of shoes and clothing (we love fashion and savvy shopping), chocolate (who doesn't love chocolate) education and swimming (we love this too). It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.

Category: Fashion

Fearne Cotton launched a range of clothing for Boots Miniclub last year and how could it fail not to be the epitome of cool? We were therefore excited to hear that the second instalment features Fearne’s first baby collection for newborns, and continues to offer gorgeous garments all the way up to 6 years.

Featuring cool and vibrant prints and colours, Fearne’s range is about standing out and having fun – while being able to move easily and feel comfortable. Filled with confident and colourful pieces, the range captures the essence of the British spring and summer vibe. From pastel pinks to trendy charcoal greys, the gorgeous colour palettes are brought to life in stylish shapes and animal prints across the collection of chic and compatible clothing including reversible bomber jackets, sweaters, dresses and easy pull-ups.

The Mini Club Cat dress is a particular favourite of our little fashionista as it is so wearable (and washable) so it gets a thumbs up from both mum and daughter. It has an all over cat print and has functional front pockets, for when the little one wants to stash away her collections of LOL Surprise Dolls or stones .... whatever takes her fancy on that particular day. At £12.00 it is also really affordable too!

The Mini Club Fearne Frill Sweatshirt is 95% cotton but has a super soft feel to it that my daughter loves. Trying to strike a balance between comfort and fashion isn't always easy but the FEARNE by Fearne Cotton range manages to make cool clothes feel comfortable!

The FEARNE by Fearne Cotton range has everything for rock chick girls and super cool boys. It provides a style that combines adorable with on trend styling but at afforable prices.

My only criticism of the range is that it only goes up to Age 6 ..... what am I going to do when she gets too big for MiniClub at Boots?

It already feels as though summer is over. We can feel the crisp chill creeping in to the morning air, and the nights are definitely that bit darker.

Sure, we still, officially, have a few days left of the summer season, but I definitely won’t be wistfully holding onto it, begging it to stick around for that big longer. Roll on autumn, I say.

So long, the Great British Disappointment

To me summer is always a bit of a disappointment. We put together all these grand plans for what we’ll do with the kids when the sun shines and the skies are blue. But the fact of the matter is, our Great British Summer rarely delivers.

We have the odd few days of beaming, unbearable heat… and then we’re back to downpours and rained-off picnics. Your plans are in the gutter, along with the 100 mm of rainfall that so gladly graced your summer month.

On the other hand, as summer comes to a close, we approach autumn. The season that doesn’t disappoint. We don’t expect glorious weather, we want candlelit evenings, autumnal leaf fall, and brand new wellies. And guess what, every year, without fail, we get it.

This is, of course, along with some of the best festive dates of the year. Autumn is Halloween, Bonfire Night, and Advent. Yes, autumn even allows you to enjoy the Christmas build up without the actual pressure of entertaining over Christmas. As soon as winter kicks in on 21 December, that relaxed autumn ambience is well and truly out of the window.

So, with all that in mind, I’m here to say autumn is awesome. Let’s embrace the change in season. Look, here’s a listicle. Let’s round it up – ten reasons why.

10 reasons why autumn is the very best of the seasons

Your autumn wardrobe

Oh my goodness! Knitwear, gorgeous coats, scarves and the ability to layer soft fabrics to keep you wrapped up warm, what is not to love about an autumn wardrobe. It is also a great excuse to go shopping, especially if you had a clear out in the spring and in my case “have nothing to wear”, you can sit comfortably on your sofa and browse through online shopping sites such as ESPRIT, ASOS or Zara to find quirky, on trend, gorgeous new pieces for your wardrobe.

Everyone always tells me that I need to add more bright colours to my wardrobe but autumn is a chance to celebrate those muted warm tones. Here are some of the things I am coveting right now.

By acceptable weather, I mean expected weather. Rain is all well and good, when you want it. In fact, in the autumn darkness, the pavement even gleams in the light of the lampposts. Yes. In autumn, rain is poetic. In summer, it’s merely an annoyance. All hail that crisp morning air as well. Oh, the relief after the summer humidity.

OK, so we did food. But we all know pumpkin spice latte deserves to stand independently.

BED

Autumn is even so kind as to give us an extra hour in bed. As soon as we’ve settled into the season, enjoying pumpkin spice lattes and cosy roll-neck knitwear, it treats us yet again. No, stay in bed. Have a lie in. Autumn has got this. Boom… Daylight Saving Time ends. What a gem autumn is.

Halloween and Bonfire Night

Stress-free festivities for the whole family. Unlike mass summer barbies and huge Christmas dinners, Halloween and bonfire night are laidback autumn events. The kids are happy with a Wilkos dress-up. Heck, they’d be happy as a bin bag ghost, so long as they can knock-on, Trick or Treating. What’s more, there’s so many organised bonfires nowadays, you no longer need to fear for your life garden on Guy Fawkes Night.

Autumn leaves and conkers

I don’t know if you have a dog, but even if you don’t, there’s nothing like walking through the woodlands during October and November. Falling leaves, the array of autumnal colours, conkers scattered all around. It’s beautiful. It truly is. And if you need reassurance, Insta loves autumn too.

Cosy evenings in

Forget fanning yourself down with the windows wide open. Crack open the cocoa, light your scented candles, and cosy up with your favourite blanket. At 5pm.

View-worthy TV

On the topic of cosy nights in… there’s so much on the box. Autumn greets us with Bake Off, swiftly followed by The Apprentice, Strictly, the X Factor. All the best dramas save themselves for the long nights, as well. Get on my tele!

Advent

Christmas is coming! And autumn allows you to enjoy it. All the planning, all the prep, all the Christmas music. The parties, the present-buying, the Santa visits. The excitement. It’s all looking so good; the anticipation is the best bit. Pre-winter everyone is a walking Will Ferrell in Elf. As soon as winter hits, the pressure is on to don your pinny and be the hostess with the mostest. Then you’re done. Done, and hopefully not in too much post-xmas debt. Fingers crossed.

With two daughters who regularly pull at my heart strings, they are never far from my thoughts so when I heard about Kaya Jewellery, designed for mothers and daughters I knew I wanted to learn more.

Tanya from Kaya decided that she wanted to develop a brand that was affodable for both mums and their children. Jewellery that wasn't made of plastic or wood, but jewellery made from genuine materials like precious stones, crystals and freshwater pearls. With matching mum jewellery, you can celebrate all special occasions in your daughters life together with her.

Mum and daughter "twinning" is a big thing at the moment and Kaya have some gorgeous mother and daughter sets but when we were invited to take a look around the site, I fell in love with this silver ring with two birthstones in it.

As a mum (and jewellery lover), I have found that the sets available from Kaya are not only affordable but brilliant gifts too. Which is why I am delighted to be able to share with you, the chance to win £40 to spend at Kaya Jewellery. All you need to do is enter below.

The Prize: £40 to spend at Kaya JewelleryThe winners will be chosen at random by the random winner generator on Rafflecopter and notified within 7 working days by emailBy entering this competition, you understand that your details may be retained for future mailings. You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.There is no monetary equivalent.Little Lilypad Co take no /responsibility for loss or damage in the despatch of prizesIf the prize is unclaimed within 7 days we reserve the right to redraw the winner.End Date 31/07/2017 at 12am

Father’s Day will soon be upon us and of course, one of the best feelings in the world is showering loved ones with gifts of appreciation, but there are other ways to show we care.

This Father’s Day, for my children, myself, and all the other mums out there, I propose that we all go back to basics and find inventive ways to show Dads some love.

Show some interest in his hobbies

OK, they may be boring, but have you ever actually shown given any attention to Dad’s interests? From stereotypical football fanatics, to golf, motors, fishing and everything in between, Father’s Day is an opportunity to set some time aside and get involved. Dads are sure to love spending time with the children, painting model aeroplanes, uprooting home grown veg from the allotment, or cosying up on the sofa to watch some old-time TV classics.

Cook him up a tasty treat

Whether Dad loves steak and chips, Indian cuisine, or fish and chips, ditch the takeaway and spend an afternoon preparing a culinary delight for Sunday night. Is there really anything better than a home cooked meal, made from the heart?

Sort out a radio shout out

If your Dad still sticks on breakfast shows as he showers in the morning, why not call in to his favourite station and arrange a shout out? Get the kids together and come up with something short, but personal, and ask for it to be read out to the nation over the radio waves.

Get him something that he really wants

My husband is always telling me that I need to buy things that the recipiant will like, not just what I like and he is right. Making time time to find out about something your Dad really wants means that he doesn't have an unecessary amount of aftershave or socks.

The folk at Mainline Menswear very kindly sent us this Ted Baker Jonnys Core Mini Card Leather Wallet In Black, which is brilliantly priced at just £37.00 and is definitely something that my husband wants! He has been talking about getting a new wallet for ages, so I know that this gorgeous soft leather wallet will be perfect for Fathers Day from the girls.

Go on a family adventure

Forget costly tickets and absurd admission prices. That’s not what this is about. Days out with Dad can simply be family dog walks across the countryside, day trips to the beach, or a picnic at the park – with football nets nearby, of course.

Togetherness is key when you have the best Dad ever. (he is mine by the way but I will agree to disagree with you on this one)

So if you were as taken by the Ted Baker wallet as we were, we are thrilled to be able to give you the chance to win one. All you need to do is enter below. Be quick though .... it's not long until Fathers Day!!

The Prize: Ted Baker Jonnys Mini Wallet - RRP £37The winners will be chosen at random by the random winner generator on Rafflecopter and notified within 7 working days by emailBy entering this competition, you understand that your details may be retained for future mailings. You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.There is no monetary equivalent.Little Lilypad Co take no /responsibility for loss or damage in the despatch of prizesIf the prize is unclaimed within 7 days we reserve the right to redraw the winner.End Date 14/06/2017 at 12am